Accommodation Policy

The American Board of Pediatric Dentistry (ABPD) provides reasonable and appropriate accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act for individuals with documented disabilities or qualifying medical conditions who demonstrate a need for accommodation.

Accommodations are provided on an individual basis and depend on the nature of the disability or medical condition, the documentation provided, and the requirements of the examination. ABPD will make reasonable efforts to provide the requested services to examinees who have documented disabilities or qualifying medical conditions, as long as the accommodations do not fundamentally alter the measurement of the skills or knowledge the examination is intended to test and do not result in an undue burden to the organization.

Problems such as English as a second language, test anxiety, slow reading without an identified underlying physical or mental deficit, and failure to achieve a desired outcome are not learning disabilities and generally are not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Individuals must request testing accommodations with each application and may be required to submit additional documentation for the same disability/condition with subsequent applications.

Requesting Accommodation

Request and Appropriate Documentation for Examination Accommodation ABPD requires a completed Examination Accommodation Request Form (click here)along with a recent evaluation of the candidate and other documentation. A licensed professional appropriately qualified for diagnosing the disability must conduct the evaluation.

If an individual registering for an ABPD examination has a documented disability recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act and requires testing accommodations, he/she must submit:

A signed and dated Examination Accommodation Request Form.

Documentation of any previous accommodations provided by educational institutions or other testing agencies.

A current (within the past five years) evaluation report from an appropriate licensed professional (e.g. physician, psychologist)., see application for ABPD documentation guidelines.

This documentation will assist ABPD in determining whether the individual qualifies for an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.ABPD Documentation Guidelines

Process for Submission

The Examination Accommodation Request Form and all other supporting documentation should be sent by US Postal Service or other carrier to:

American Board of Pediatric Dentistry 5034 Thoroughbred Lane, Ste A

Brentwood, TN 37027

All required documentation must be received by ABPD on or before the following deadlines:

Qualifying Examination: December 30.

Oral Clinical Examination: April 1.

Renewal of Certification Examination: August 1.

ABPD personnel will acknowledge receipt of each request and notify applicants when their submissions are complete. Those submissions deemed incomplete as of the required deadline will be excluded from consideration.

Completed submissions will be initially reviewed by the Chief Assessment Officer and forwarded electronically to the appropriate Board Liaison/Chair of the Examination subcommittee for further review. Each Board Liaison/Chair is to evaluate each request and decide on whether an accommodation is reasonable and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Each Board Liaison/Chair may request additional information and/or solicit advice from the ABPD Board of Directors or from an independent professional in its deliberation. The Board Liaison/Examination Chairs will submit an annual written report of the Accommodation requests received and decisions given to the Board of Directors.

Decision Outcome

Decisions on accommodation requests will be made in writing within 30 days after the deadline If a candidate is dissatisfied with ABPD’s decision concerning a request for accommodation, he/she may request reconsideration. The candidate must send a letter to ABPD stating in specific detail why the initial decision was incorrect and provide all additional documentation the candidate wishes ABPD to consider. Any request for consideration must be received no later than 30 days from the date of ABPD’s written decision concerning the request for accommodation. ABPD may grant or deny the request or seek additional information.

Only those accommodations approved in advance by ABPD will be honored at the test site. No accommodation requests will be considered or approved at the test site. No extensions to an application or refunds will be granted because of failure to identify a disability or special need(s) as required by this policy.